"A divided federal appeals court on Thursday rejected an effort by a coalition of environmental groups to revoke federal approval of Royal Dutch Shell Plc's (RDSa.L) oil spill response plans related to drilling on Alaska's remote Arctic coast.

By a 2-1 vote, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, which is part of the Department of the Interior, acted lawfully in approving the plans, which relate to Shell oil leases in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas from 2005, 2007 and 2008.

It rejected arguments by environmental groups such as the National Audobon Society, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club, that the approval was "arbitrary" and "capricious," based on Shell's unsupported assumption that it could recover 90 percent to 95 percent of any oil spilled."

Jonathan Stempel reports for Reuters June 11,2015. [2]